Dwelling Prospects
Dwelling Prospects is the second chapter of Beyond the Veil by Enodoc. Dwelling Prospects Samuel was uneasy. The villagers of Brightwall had been so impressed with his enthusiasm over the Academy and his leadership in supplying the Dwellers that they had unofficially elected him as Mayor of Brightwall. He was much happier lost in his books at the library, but agreed to present the people's case if the need ever arose. Such a need had arisen, so once again Samuel found himself on the steps of Bowerstone Castle. "Come along, Boulder. We need to nip this idea in the bud!" Samuel looked towards the corner of the courtyard, where he was certain nobody had been before, to see Sabine and his bodyguard emerging from the shadows. "Where...?" he began. "Dwellers have their ways, good librarian," answered Sabine. "I trust the supplies are still arriving in a timely manner?" "Oh yes, we are grateful for the assistance." Sabine drew a long breath from his pipe. "And without Logan's policies destroying our land we should soon be able to pay that debt back." "Think nothing of it. We are glad to help." "Now I just need to make sure Reaver doesn't worsen the issue by expanding his operations in the region, which is why I am here today." "Yes, and I need to ensure he doesn't prevent the enhancement of the Brightwall economy." "Come along, Boulder." The men entered the castle and went their separate ways. "Good morning, Your Majesty. May I present to you the Royal Schedule," said Hobson, as the King and Sam entered the Treasury. "And I must say that despite frequently draining the Treasury to dangerously low levels last year, it is good to see that our money still reaches the ceiling." "I believe the parties involved in the first case have recently arrived," said Hobson. He proceeded to outline the case to the King. "My word!" said the King, "Send for Master Reaver immediately." Hobson beamed. "At once, Your Majesty." * * * "Greetings, Your Majesty." Reaver doffed his hat and bowed to the King. "Thank you for thinking of me for this hearing. I am most interested to see how you will solve this little matter when I am not directly involved in the arguments." "Your financial and industrial knowledge may prove indispensable in this case," said Hobson, "But I advise you to remain as neutral as possible." "I will find it hard to be neutral when it is one of my former investments that is being debated about," scoffed Reaver, "I will however do my utmost to advise our monarch here of the financial benefits and drawbacks of each case." Hobson showed Reaver into the Throne Room. The King glanced through the door and saw Harold standing readily in position. "Harold looks composed," said the King to Hobson as he re-entered the room. "Of course, Your Majesty. Harold is a professional." The King departed the War Room and made his way around to the main entrance of the Throne Room. "Be good, Sam. I'll see you soon." "His Majesty, the King of Albion!" announced Harold. The King entered and made his way to the throne. On one side stood Harold, taking the same position Walter used to occupy. On the other side, Reaver surveyed the room, looking pleased with himself. The proposition and opposition parties stood off to either side of the room, and the King realised they couldn't actually see each other. "The first matter today," explained Harold, "concerns the future of the Mistpeak to Millfields Cablecar, commonly referred to as the Mistpeak Monorail. Samuel will present his case," he gestured for Samuel to enter, "and Sabine will stand against him." "Oh my..." said Samuel, the colour draining from his face. Sabine approached from the other side and raised his eyebrows. "Well this is a fine predicament," he said. "Reaver will provide advice in the capacity of Industrial Advisor," continued Harold. He turned and smiled at Reaver, "Please try to remain impartial." Reaver tipped his hat in acknowledgement. "You may speak," said the King. "Your Majesty," began Samuel, "The Academy is flourishing thanks to you declaring it open to all. As a result, the Brightwall economy is steadily improving. However, growth is stunted by the remoteness of Brightwall's location in the Mistpeak Mountains. Travellers face all sorts of dangers if they try to approach by the roads. I therefore request that the Mistpeak Monorail be renovated and reopened to allow safe passage into the region. I would also like to request an upgrade to the roads of Mistpeak Valley with additional guards to patrol them, and soldiers to keep the monorail safe from hobbes." "Sire, you returned the lands of Mistpeak to the Dwellers and declared it a protected region under our authority. Approving this request would go some way towards countering your previous decree. Not to mention damaging the landscape between the Hole and Brightwall, which has become one of our foremost agricultural production areas. The wilderness and wildlife of Mistpeak would not adapt well to further industrialization. I suggest you attend to nature's will and fully decommission the route of the Mistpeak Monorail." Reaver stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I can't begin to express how pleased I would be to see my cablecar route reopened..." Harold scowled at him. "...so I won't. Renovating the line would indeed boost our income from the area, but at what cost? Refitting a suspended track is not cheap, and I wonder really how long it would take to see the full benefits... Benefits that will, without a doubt, come in time," he added. The King noticed he did not seem to enjoy playing down one of his own products. "On the other hand," Reaver continued, "Something can be said for the advantages of subsistence farming. Once they have built up their output I'm sure the little mountain people would happily sell their produce to the citizenry and generate some income. But how will they export their wares efficiently without a functional transport link? Whichever you decide, Your Majesty, know that Reaver Industries will faithfully put your plan into action." "The cases are presented," declared Harold. "Will you renovate the monorail to ensure the continued growth of Brightwall, or decommission it and allow the Dwellers to expand their agriculture? The choice is yours." A Hero's Judgement The outcome of this judgement is not one for a mere writer to decide. The choice is left to you, the Heroes of Fable Fanon, to determine the Future of the Mistpeak Monorail. (This is an experiment. Please refer to the series hub for details.) ;Morality :Within Fable, many choices have an impact on the Hero's morality. Accordingly, these decisions may also affect the Hero's morality. :Morally Grey: The outcomes of this judgement are neither good nor evil, since they benefit one party at the detriment of the other.